President Joe Biden strode into the White House four years ago with a foreign policy agenda that put repairing alliances strained by four years of Republican Donald Trump’s “America First” worldview front and center.
The one-term Democrat took office in the throes of the worst global pandemic in a century and his plans were quickly stress-tested by a series of complicated international crises: the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and Hamas’ brutal 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in the Middle East.
HAITI Turning to Haiti. Yesterday – January 12th – marked 15 years since the devastating earthquake claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. The Secretary-General remembers the victims of the earthquake and continues to honour their legacy through the United Nations’ work in the country. He also paid tribute to the 102 colleagues, our own colleagues, who died on that day, including the head of the Mission at the time, Mr. Hédi Annabi, and one of our dear colleagues who used to work on the documents counter, Alexandra Duguay, who is remembered by her bright smile and efficient work. An estimated three million people as you know, were impacted by the earthquake, which led to severe humanitarian, protection, health, displacement, and infrastructural challenges for Haiti, some of which are still present today. Yesterday, in Haiti, the United Nations held a ceremony in Port-au-Prince to honour the victims of the earthquake and our colleagues. In a statement, the head of the UN political office in Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador, expressed her solidarity with all those whose lives continue to be impacted by this tragedy. She also saluted the determination and resilience of the Haitian people, who responded with courage in the aftermath of the earthquake, and she also, of course, reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to continue working alongside the Haitian authorities and people to build a better future for the country.
UKRAINE The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, is in Ukraine this week to meet with people impacted by the hostilities, to discuss how we can further cooperate with Ukrainian authorities, and engage with our humanitarian partners on the ground. Yesterday, in Zaporizhzhia, Mr. Fletcher held talks with authorities. He visited the site where last month a missile hit a medical clinic, totally destroying the facility and causing civilian casualties. He also visited an underground school, built in just 6 months, which will educate 1,000 children every day. Also yesterday, Mr. Fletcher was in Dnipro, where he visited a collective site for displaced people. Today, he travelled to the frontline area of the Donetsk region, where he commended the work of local first responders and NGOs. Mr. Fletcher saw how communities remaining in the area are supported by aid organizations and how evacuees receive assistance at a transit centre in the city of Pavlohrad, which is in Dnipro. Tomorrow, Mr. Fletcher will visit Kharkiv, and on Thursday, he and the head of UNHCR, Filippo Grandi, will launch this year’s humanitarian and refugee response plans for Ukraine and the region. Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Grandi will jointly speak to the press from Kyiv just before the plan is launched. In Ottawa, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health Yasir Naqvi announces an investment of $1.3 million to Operation Come Home for a program that supports homeless youth who are at risk of harms from substance use.
He is joined by John Heckbert (executive director) and Katie Price (coordinator) of Operation Come Home.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/policy-and-rights--3339563/support.
